


La Mia Albicocca

by 4ce_in_sp4ce



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Fluff, Food as an Expression of Love, M/M, just two men stupidly in love in Malta, like tooth-rottingly sweet fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:33:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25807414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/4ce_in_sp4ce/pseuds/4ce_in_sp4ce
Summary: Apricots had always been Nicky's favourite fruit
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 29
Kudos: 288





	La Mia Albicocca

Joe paused, the splash of soft orange catching his eye. He’d stepped out with the intention of just getting some milk from the small corner store and being back before Nicky woke up, but it seemed a small detour on the way back to the house was in order.

The cart was piled precariously high with apricots. They were all clearly ripe, their skins beautiful shades of peach and orange tinged with red in places. Probably from a local farm, if he had to guess; they had the softness and lustre of fresh fruit that fruit in the store always lacked. 

“ _They’re fresh off the tree._ ” Joe looked over to find a small old man smiling at him. “ _Picked less than an hour ago._ ”

Joe nodded, picking up one of the apricots and examining it. His Maltese wasn’t great, but it was close enough to Tunisian Arabic for him to understand. “ _You have an orchard?_ ”

The man laughed. “ _Orchard is perhaps too kind. Only a few trees. They bear plenty of fruit though._ ”

“ _Clearly._ ” The apricot felt soft in his hand, warmed by the early morning sun. The sweet smell was enough to make Joe’s mouth water. “ _How much?_ ”

“ _Two for a euro._ ” Joe pulled out his wallet, digging through it until he found a €5 note. The man laughed again as he took it. “ _You must really love apricots._ ”

“ _My husband adores them. They’re his favourite fruit._ ”

The old man began carefully grabbing apricots from the pile on the cart, squeezing them gently before placing them in a bag. “ _They were my wife’s favourite as well. She’s why I planted the trees in the first place._ ” He smiled softly at Joe. “ _She always used to say that food is how we show love without words. Your husband is lucky to have someone who loves him as you do._ ”

Joe laughed, feeling a blush creeping into his cheeks. “ _Believe me, I’m the lucky one. To be loved by a man like him? I think sometimes I must be blessed._ ”

“ _Perhaps you both are._ ” The old man handed him the bag, still smiling. “ _A few extra, on me. For you and your husband to enjoy._ ”

Joe nodded in thanks. “ _And I have no doubt we will._ ” He began the walk back to the house they were staying in, enjoying the gentle breeze and warm sun. Maybe he would make apricots with milk and honey for breakfast when he got back; there were certainly enough in the bag to make that and still have plenty left over to eat normally. Nicky would probably be waking up soon, and Joe couldn’t think of a better way for them to start the day. He grinned to himself. Well, nothing food related at least.

He remembered when he’d first found out how much Nicky loved apricots. They’d only been travelling together for a few months then. He’d still been wary of his companion, this strange man whom he had been trained to hate and kill, but their short time together had at least convinced him well enough that, whatever they were, they were no longer enemies. 

Weeks of empty desert had finally given way to the outskirts of Cairo. Joe’s first instinct had been to avoid the city, but then an idea had struck him. They’d managed to learn each other’s names and a few basic words in each other’s language- yes, no, water, and a handful of others- but most of their communication had still been limited to facial expression and pantomime. Not exactly conducive to a conversation, and the endless silent hours as they’d walked had been lonely despite the man at his side. Cairo’s bazaars were full of sights and smells though, things he could point to and repeat their name until this stranger he was stuck with understood what he was saying.

Nicky had been confused at first but had caught on quickly enough, repeating Joe’s words slowly until he’d managed to approximate them closely enough to be intelligible. He’d then begun repeating words in his own language until Joe could say them back, the syllables feeling foreign in his mouth. It had been a slow process, but not an unpleasant one. After weeks of travelling Joe had been fascinated by the look of wonder and amazement on his companion’s face as they’d walked through the bazaar. Sometimes he’d stop and simply point to something silently, confusion written so plainly across his face that Joe had wanted to laugh. He hadn’t expected his normally guarded companion to be so expressive.

None of that had prepared him, however, for the look of excitement on Nicky’s face as he’d grabbed his arm suddenly and pulled him over to a cart piled high with apricots, pointing at them emphatically. _Albicocca _. Even after close to a millennium he could still remember the joy in Nicky’s voice. He’d smiled when Joe repeated the word back at him, earnestly trying to copy Joe’s pronunciation of the Arabic version. His accent had bent the vowels strangely, but it hadn’t bothered Joe in the least. It hadn’t been until later, when they’d learned more of each other’s languages, that he’d learned the apricots had been Nicky’s favourite fruit as a child. That they’d been sold every once in a while in the market in the village where he’d grown up, too rare and expensive for him to usually afford but sweet enough that it had always been worth it when he did. All he had known that day in the bazaar had been that his companion’s face had lit up in a way he had never seen before when he’d seen the pile of apricots, and that he would love nothing more than to see that expression again.__

____

He closed the door quietly behind him as he entered the house. It was small, but the large windows and view over the sleepy village out to the water was more than worth it. He smiled when he spotted Nicky’s sleeping form still curled under the blankets of their bed; he’d always been the later sleeper of the two of them, not that Joe minded. Being awake earlier simply meant that he was better able to appreciate Nicky’s gentleness and sleep-blurred affection when he first woke up. 

____

Sure enough, the contented hum as Nicky wrapped his arms around Joe’s waist and rested his chin on Joe’s shoulder 15 minutes later was still soft with sleep. “You went out early.” 

____

“We needed milk.” He leaned back against Nicky, pausing cutting up the apricots on the counter in front of him to savour the warmth of the embrace. “Picked us up a treat on the way back.” 

____

The small gasp of joy as Nicky caught sight of the fruit on the cutting board was no less beautiful than it had been those centuries ago in Cairo. “Oh, _cuore mio_ , have I told you how much I love you recently?” 

____

Joe laughed. “You mentioned it several times last night, among other things.” 

____

“Mm, I supposed I did.” He buried his face against Joe’s neck, embrace tightening slightly. “But it bears repeating. From now until forever.” The gentle kiss was enough to make Joe’s heart stutter. “Because I do. I love you, Yusuf. _La mia anima_.” Nicky smiled against his skin. “ _La mia albicocca_. I love you.” 

____

Joe turned in Nicky’s arms, capturing his mouth and kissing him deeply. The words were enough to make him fall in love with Nicky a thousand times over, warmth exploding in his chest like it did every time Nicky uttered them. Even eternity wouldn’t be long enough to dull their effect on him. “And you say _I’m_ a hopeless romantic.” 

____

“What can I say?” Nicky rested his forehead against Joe’s, smiling. “I learned from the best.” 

____

**Author's Note:**

>  _cuore mio_ \- my heart  
>  _la mia anima_ \- my soul  
>  _la mia albicocca_ \- my apricot


End file.
